Saturday, February 09, 2008

Ahoy! Check out me plunder!...and another poll...

Hmmm, Perhaps I should download that pirates book. Since I seem incapable of going yarn/craft shopping without referring to everything purchased as plunder.

Yes. I finally went shopping. I had my list. I needed some hat yarn for sweetums :-) and a circular needle for Jane's shawl. I had trouble finding what I wanted for the hat. This is what I came up with, Lion Brand Cotton Ease. I've never used it before, and it's not the right gauge for the pattern...so I'm probably doomed...but let's see if I can pull it off anyways, shall we?I needed buttons (FINALLY BUTTONS!!!) for my niece's sweater. It's now an entire month late for her birthday....ugg! But, it's still a bit big for her anyways. It was seriously slim pickins for the buttons at Michaels, but much to my surprise they had these, which are almost exactly what I was seeing in my head, although a bit bigger. They are NOT sewn on yet... actually, they are still attached to the cardboard. I just poked them through the buttonholes so I could take a picture . Next on the list was the beads for Jane's shawl. That was a bit tough , there was a lady in the aisle with 4 very loud children. Harold asked me if he was allowed to change his mind about eventually having a couple of our own...I said no. Anyways, we had to go to the other side of the store...(I decided to go get the yarn first..because the child sounds were just too much for me)...but we could hear them all the way from across the store. The mom was really trying hard to control them it seemed, but with 4! And it was really the little one making all the noise ...maybe a yearish old...so really, what could she do? Nonetheless, I had to leave the aisle :-)So anyways, obviously from the picture you can see that I later came back to the aisle, note that during this whole adventure, Harold is standing (and walking) while reading a book in the store, because this is just too painful for him. I found these glass beads. It was difficult to tell which ones would have a wide enough centre to string onto the DK weight yarn without binding it up...so my options were pretty limited. I came home and immediately tried to string a few on. Phew! It worked!Now for the poll:

Question #1 - Do I use all of the bead colours? Or just the blue ones? Or use a few of the colours only? What do you think? Really.

Here are some pictures to help you decide:

All bead colours randomly distributed (I won't be able to control distribution other than to consistently string in the same sequence..Sooo Question #2 . If using all colours, should I consistently string in the same colour order (eg. red blue green, red blue green, red blue green)...or just be totally random?

Only blue beads - There are actually 2 different blues, one slightly darker than the other (not seen in this photo)Some more bead shots to help you decide on colours (all opinions are very very welcome...I'm so indecisive :-pAnd here's just the blue...notice in this pic, you can see the two different blues, they're very close. I actually didn't notice at first.Oh, by the way the pattern I decided on is Mohair Tiger Pattern. She said that she needed about 140 beads for the size that she made. I have tonnes if I use all colours, or exactly 142 if I use just the blue ones. I have no idea how big her finished shawl was, so I don't know if 142 will be enough for me or not....I supposed I could go back to Michaels and see if they have one more package of the beads just to be safe...but...I probably won't get around to it...(Ha! but they did have at least one or two of them left when I was there today.

So....now I await your votes:

Question #1 - multicolour, a few colours (and which ones specifically), or all blue?

Question #2 - If you chose multicolour, should the beads be strung in a uniform order...or just grab and string randomly?

3 comments:

Wow! I love the sweater for your niece. It is just adorable! I am voting for all blue beads. I think they look fantastic with your yarn. Also when the blue is mixed in with the other colors all I see is the blue beads. They really stand out. If it were me I would use both blue colors. I would not separate them. I like how they are slightly different from each other. Good luck with your decision. I'll keep checking in to watch your progress!!! I like the pattern you are using. Can't wait to see you start!!! Have a fun weekend!!

I like the blue. Both the blue together. But I am really out of my league here with the beads but you didn't say you need opinions from people who were educated in the bead department. So my vote, blues.

I love cotton ease. It is wonderful for baby projects too. It knits up nice and cares well. I have a market bag knit out of it as well.

Nice pattern. I too would vote for only blue, since it looks as if they only go up the centre and around the edges.

You might want to check out this URL for an easy way to add beads without having to string them all on first. I've used this way and it's super easy, and won't 'wear' your yarn.http://fluffyknitterdeb.blogspot.com/2005/08/by-special-request-beading-made-easy.html